Audio
Originally educated in Audio Technology in 2004, I have recently returned to my passion for music creation. I am currently taking courses in music production at Berklee College of Music. I am particularly interested in exploring the contrasts and synergies between technology and our natural world, through both electronic and acoustic sound. If you would like to collaborate with me, do get in touch.
@arffra.com
Recent Sounds
The Quiet City
This is the final project for my Jan-Mar 2024 sampling course at Berklee, composed using my own samples and a single synth. It is a reflection of my environment - a methodical improvisation on a train, slow improvisation at night with a MIDI controller, and the need to find some peace and slow down in a city that keeps moving. I am often drawn to this contrast between mediation and methodical 'slow work', and the busy city that bustles and grows.
By the Tracks
I wrote this simple composition, inspired by the growth of plants through and around man-made materials by a train track, as they reach up into the sunlight for the first time. The main sound is an interplay between a custom synth patch and a sampler loaded with a tiny snippet of sound from a field recording. The track is mastered from a live session, where I used TouchOSC on an iPad to manipulate my samples and patches on Ableton Live.
Aspen / Sheets of Rain
Inspired by Chapter 17 (titled 'The Aspen Stakeout') of Bill Browder's book 'Freezing Order.' The first part expresses the calm and beauty of the Rocky Mountains when Browder and his family retreat to Aspen, and time slows down. However, as the rain begins to fall in sheets, Browder realizes he is never completely safe. He is chased by lawyers representing the Russian state, who are seeking to discredit Browder after he uncovered a $230 million fraud.
Aftermath
This is a longer concept piece exploring the aftermath of destruction and human fragility. It was written for my Berklee coursework exploring Sonic Signatures and incorporates some of the signature sounds and ideas I was working on in 2023. This piece started in motion further explorations of repurposed sampled sounds, real instrument recordings, more advanced work with arpeggios, and generative music using elements of chance.